'I want something that will pick me up and f*ck me up,' Kate Moss asked famed cocktail maestro Dick Bradsell in the early eighties. And thus, the espresso martini was born, as the mixologist only had a coffee maker and some vodka to hand. We headed to the Bluebird in Chelsea to get a mixology masterclass from the restaurant's top bartending team. The espresso martini is one of the venue's most popular cocktails. The head bartender, Egzon Kastrati, revealed that the bar uses more coffee than the main restaurant for making the heady libations. In a month, they roughly rustle up 3,000 espres...
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Just in time for summer’s swanky house parties and rooftop barbeques (cucumber martini anyone?), the creme of British talent from the worlds of music, fashion and nightlife have lent their creative genius to the latest Absolut Mix bottle for Stonewall and this year's London Pride. The vodka brand challenged 12 artists to add ‘their own twist’ to the acclaimed limited edition Absolut Mix, and boy did they! The result? A one-of-kind Pride auction featuring bespoke bottle designs from Henry Holland, Gareth Pugh, SIBLING, London nightclub purveyors Lyall Hakaraia and Sink The Pink, cutting e...
Read more →New Years Eve is so passé. Queues at the bar, big fees on the door, not to mention all the ugly bastards that haven’t pulled all year giving it one last ditch attempt. Don’t put yourself through it - Why not do New Years Day instead?
Read more →Now the longest day has long past, you like me should be savoring every last dreg of summer. Dissecting it's seasonal flavours and treasuring each of it's joyous components - much like how a ten year old would each a Jaffa cake... Glorifying all things summer, Floridita in Soho, are savoring a little bit of that sun at "Rum Island" the new designated spot for sipping back on that pirate juice. X- marks the spot, just downstairs from the pan-Indian restaurant and cocktail bar Carom. Upon our visit, we were escorted to the love bed/chair (don't fall asleep) and presented with a drinks b...
Read more →Remember circuit training at school (it sends shudders to my core)? The Takeover have literally taken over this concept and via butterfly net have unleashed it at the Union Street Bar. In place of crunches and perhaps burpees, you can muddle with mixology mastery and baptise yourself in bands which will be ruling the floor for one week of every month. Flexing your cocktail muscles in the most cardiovascular inducing way the launch saw the venue hosted a trio of premium spirits; Ketel One, Don Julio and Bulleit Bourbon and Rye. At each brands station guest where challenged to raise a glas...
Read more →Like a banana skin in a cartoon seen, The Take Over at Union Street Bar will be helping you to slide into your Bank Holiday Weekend and beyond. The Takeover will see premium spirits brands such as Ketel One Vodka, Don Julio Tequila and Bulleit Bourbon and Rye hold the downstairs of Gordon Ramsay’s Union Street Bar hostage for one week at a time. Whilst lording the space, each brand will hold a residency with exclusive menus and mixology master classes and a number of exclusive parties with cocktails, canapés and music as the mixer. Ketel One Vodka’s debut Take Over will run from the 1...
Read more →Sipsmith have teamed up with Kettner’s in Soho to present the 100 Martini Bar, bringing to life 100 Martini recipes both classic and somewhat forgotten. The event is promising to be an enlightening experience and will have something to offer connoisseurs, discerning drinkers and newcomers alike.
Read more →I discovered the other day that Grey Goose, the “luxury vodka with taste” is opening a pop-up bakery. A bakery! Amazing! It’s coming to central London for the last few days of November and will be known as Boulangerie François. Whilst, sadly, they aren’t selling vodka bread (surely the best hangover breakfast ingredient other than a Bloody Mary according to my friend Henry Conway), they will be serving bread made from the finest French ingredients that Grey Goose is known for. Namely, certified class 1, soft winter wheat, and spring water naturally filtered through champagne limestone. ...
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